Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted a forceful defence of Israel's actions in the region at the United Nations on Thursday, seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates streamed out.
The walkout underscored the competing pressures facing Netanyahu, who is battling mounting criticism abroad over the Gaza war while campaigning for reelection at home ahead of an 27 October vote.
The divisions over Israel's conduct were on display as Netanyahu began speaking, with dozens of delegates walking out in protest. He called them “moral cowards,” while supporters in the gallery chanted in Hebrew, “The people of Israel live.”
Netanyahu used his address to berate New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for calling him a war criminal, Western European leaders for what he called succumbing to “antisemitic mobs,” and to accuse both Qatar and Türkiye of spreading lies about Israel.
Qatar also rejected the accusation that it was seeking to turn public opinion against Israel, with its foreign ministry spokesperson saying on X that Netanyahu's repeated attacks on Doha sought to divert attention from responsibility for policies on the ground.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Communications Director, Burhanettin Duran, dismissed Netanyahu's accusations against Türkiye and Erdoğan as baseless.
With general elections less than five weeks away, Netanyahu spoke for about 40 minutes.
With opinion polls showing Netanyahu's bloc trailing rivals ahead of the election, he used the speech to showcase what he described as Israel's fight on seven fronts, including the war with Iran that began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes in late February.
Several hundred protesters gathered near the United Nations, with dozens blocking traffic and chanting, “Stop arming Israel, let Gaza live” and “Stop arming Israel, let Iran live.” Police detained 103 of them, according to local reports.
Netanyahu was making a short visit to the U.S. for his UN address and, unusually, without a planned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he praised during his speech.
“We will continue to defend our state. We will continue to win because we have no other choice. In this battle against the barbarians, we've had no greater partner than President Trump. I thank him. I thank him for his bold leadership,” he said.
Israel has faced deepening diplomatic isolation since launching its war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel nearly three years ago.
Netanyahu is unable to travel to many countries because of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants issued against him and his then-defence minister, Yoav Gallant, as well as the then-military commander of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, whose formal name is Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, in 2024.
Earlier this month, once-steadfast allies Britain, France and Canada announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in West Bank, which drew a muted response from Washington.
“The leaders of these countries have chosen to succumb to the antisemitic mobs. They've chosen weakness. They've chosen appeasement,” Netanyahu said.
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